President Barack Obama with his wife Michelle toured the massive tornado devastation in Tuscaloosa April 29, 2011. A pair of Alabama congressional candidates said that, if elected, they will introduce articles of impeachment against the president.
(The Birmingham News/Joe Songer).

The reddest electorate in red-state Alabama arguably resides in Baldwin County, home to some of the state’s most conservative voters.

How red? Start with the fact that not a single Democrat qualified to run for any elected office in Baldwin County this year. If that doesn’t speak volumes, consider a recent exchange from a candidate forum in Fairhope.

The tone of the Tea Party gathering, sponsored by the Common Sense Campaign, was set by its opening speaker.

Roy Moore, running to reclaim his position as chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, seized the microphone and delivered a fiery defense of individual liberty and states’ rights.

It was vintage Moore, hearkening to the defiant days of 2003, when he drew international attention for refusing a court order to remove a Ten Commandments monument from the state courthouse in Montgomery.

Moore spoke with the fervor of a tent-revival preacher, quoting Thomas Paine and George Washington as he vowed to push back against an encroaching federal government.

“When I tell you I’ll do it, you know it’s not just talk,” he said, drawing the audience to its feet. “I was standing up against the federal government before the Tea Party ever began.”

That set the stage for congressional candidates Pete Riehm and Dean Young, who are challenging Rep. Jo Bonner in the March 13 Republican Party primary.

Riehm, of Mobile, and Young, of Orange Beach, are both running insurgent campaigns against a popular, well-funded incumbent. Neither Bonner nor Peter Gounares, a fourth candidate in the GOP field, were in attendance for the event, held at the Homestead Village retirement community.

Riehm and Young were asked if they would commit to introducing articles of impeachment against President Barack Obama. Both gave a resounding “yes,” drawing vigorous approval from the crowd.

“Pure demagoguery,” said conservative columnist Quin Hillyer, who served as moderator for the event, when I later asked him for his reaction.

Baldwin County is hostile ground for Obama, who captured less than 25 percent of the vote there against Republican John McCain in 2008. But votes are one thing; impeachment is another. The day after the event, I asked Riehm and Young to elaborate on their answers — specifically, to explain what the legal basis might be for impeachment.

Young qualified his answer, saying he would first put the president “on notice” before attempting impeachment.

“It’s a serious step, and I wouldn’t take it lightly,” said Young. “First, I would cut off his funding. If that didn’t work, I would introduce a resolution describing what he’s done wrong. The last resort, which I am willing to take, would be to impeach him. We simply cannot allow him to continue to operate the way he has.”

Riehm provided a detailed description of the president’s duties as defined by the Constitution, and a list of his alleged violations — including the failure to enforce federal laws on immigration, elections and the Defense of Marriage Act.

“All of the above blatant violations of duty and the Constitution cannot go unchallenged or the Constitution is greatly weakened,” Riehm said. “Many will say impeachment will not succeed or it will take too long, which may be true. However, failure to recognize wrong-doing is moral dereliction and, when you have the authority, failure to uphold the law is accessory to the crime.”

Both Bonner and Gounares said in follow-up interviews they would not make a similar commitment.

“I would spend my time introducing bills to help create jobs for the millions who desperately need one,” Gounares said. “I do not plan on spending valuable time chasing down a symbolic vote which has no chance of ever clearing the Senate.”

Bonner said impeachment “is a serious charge, and you better have good reasons before making it.”

“Anyone spending their time on introducing articles of impeachment next January is missing the opportunity to make Barack Obama a one-term president this November,” he said. “That’s what I’m doing.”

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Political editor George Talbot’s column runs Wednesdays. Reach him at 251-219-5623 or gtalbot@press-register.com. Follow him on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/georgetalbot